Florida Defense Smothers LIU in Shutout
The Florida Gators defeated LIU 55-0 in the season opener. The star of the show? The defense.
Going into this season, coach Billy Napier and his defense had a mission to return to a championship-caliber level, and Saturday’s game served as the first test.
On top of the shutout, Florida’s defense allowed the Sharks only 86 total yards of offense on 43 plays in 14 drives and two total first downs. The Sharks averaged 1.2 yards per rush and went 36% in pass completion.
“We emphasize that we’re fanatical about the effort we practice and play with, and there’s no doubt that you could see that show up tonight,” Napier said. “[I] always talk about the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth defender showing up.”
Florida’s defense scored the first points of the season. Junior Bryce Thornton recorded a 37-yard return when quarterback Chris Howell fumbled in LIU territory.
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That wasn’t all for Thornton, as he tallied another fumble recovery just four drives later. This time, starting Sharks QB Ethan Greenwood gave the defensive back the opportunity.
“We’ve been preaching takeaways, take the ball over, get as many turnovers as we can to get the offense the ball back, but to go home and score, that’s even better,” sophomore inside linebacker Myles Graham said. “So creating turnovers and touchdowns on defense, that’s the brand of defense we want to play.”
Eighteen Gators combined for 37 tackles.
Graham and edge rusher Kamran James led the Gators with five tackles apiece. For Graham, the Gainesville native who wore the green dot Saturday as the Gators’ field general, four of those were solo.
“It’s a blessing. I got my feet wet last year, so I’m getting more reps this year, and I’m just building off what I started off of last year,” Graham said.
Inside linebacker Jaden Robinson forced a fumble on top of his four solo tackles on the night. He also tallied two tackles for loss on the night. Redshirt senior edge rusher and game captain George Gumbs Jr. recorded two tackles with one solo, 1.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.
“We just wanted to establish a standard today, and I think we did that,” Graham said. “Coming out in the first half, we came out strong. Three and out, so establishing that standard was really important to us, and no matter who we play, if it’s Long Island or whoever it is, we want to keep playing like that no matter what.”
Transfers Brendan Bett (Baylor) and Kofi Asare (UMass) each recorded their first tackles in a Gators uniform. Defensive lineman Bett had three solo tackles with one for loss, and edge rusher Asare picked up one solo tackle for loss.
True freshmen Myles Johnson, Jeremiah McCloud (2) and Lagonza Hayward (1) each tallied their first career tackles. Redshirt freshman edge rusher Titus Bullard also recorded his first tackle of his career. Inside linebacker Myles Johnson made four tackles, three of them solo, in his first time out for Florida.
“[Johnson] was having fun out there. He was relaxed for a young kid. I know I wasn’t that poised,” Graham said. “I wasn’t that poised in that moment, you know having my first play in The Swamp. There’s nothing like it, so I’m really proud of him, and he had a good tackle, good hit, and it’s fun being in there with him.”
Napier said his focus is on the plays that weren’t as good ahead of Saturday’s home game against USF.
“In general, we’re going to be tested in the future,” Napier said. “It’s a good start, but obviously, we’ve got work to do as a team to turn this thing around and get ready for a really good South Florida team.”
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Football, Gators Football, NCAA
